like the hole in a butterfly's wings
by Lost-angel-703
Summary: Ginny has a mental breakdown after seeing her brother killed, and is forced to move in with the lovegoods. To the young girls surprise they both have a lot of pain in common and need each other more than either ever knew.


Ginny stared tearfully as her family welcomed her home with open arms, but she only had thoughts for her other family- the one she was leaving. Hermione came to stand by her and hugged her. "Welcome back Gin, it's great to have my new sister come back to us! I've always wanted a little sister…"

Ginny stepped away and gave Hermione a cold stare. "You're not my sister. I have a sister, and now I have to leave her. It is NOT a good thing that I'm back 'home'… I have another home, and I belong there." Hermione looked at her in shock then walked away. Ginny gave a shuttering sigh and walked out of her own welcome home party. She walked into the garden where she had a good view of her 'other' home.

While she stared across the hills, she felt a familiar presence beside her.

"It's going to be... different... with you gone, Gin." Luna said in a shockingly clear voice. Her blond hair blew in the wind and clear blue eyes shone with tears. Hearing her words, Ginny broke. Tears cascade down her face and she embraced her best friend and newest foster sister.

In January, Ginny had gone through a traumatic suicidal break down and the ministry had wanted to hospitalize her in Saint Mungoe's Adolescent ward for the mentally unfit. Hearing about this in the daily prophet, Xophelious Lovegood had offered to take Ginny in because of his 'degree'. At first nobody had listened to him, but then to the Weasley's shock he actually DID have a child sociology degree.

After the ministry revaluated the situation, it was said that Ginny could either live with the Lovegood's or go to be hospitalized. Whichever she chose, she would be stuck there for 6 months. Ginny was torn away from her family in a fit of tears somewhere around mid-January.

For the first month, Ginny had done little more than sleep and eat. Occasionally she would 'meet' with Xophilious and talk about how she was feeling, a term set by the ministry. During the day she would sit outside and stare longingly in the direction of the burrow where she knew Ron, Harry, and Hermione would all be having fun without her.

It was in the middle of the night when Ginny had finally let Luna in. She was having a nightmare about her brother's murder, the one that had caused her to go into her fit of depression. Ginny had witnessed Percy tortured and then killed for information as she hid 30 feet away in a bush. She had seen the light leave his eyes in a cloud of green light.

Ginny lay in bed sobbing when she heard creaking floor boards and she tried to hush her tears. Luna sat on the bed beside her and gently rubbed her back, and Ginny continued to cry. After a little while, her tears had subsided and she lay on the bed with Luna humming consolingly.

"Ginny... I promise, after a while... the pain dulls. After a while, you don't dream about it every night. After a while you forget the last bad memory and remember all the good ones." She said, and it was then that Ginny realized two things. One, Xophelious had his degree because Luna had gone through the same thing and he had refused to let his baby girl leave him. Two, Luna had witnessed her mother die in a gruesome way and she, like Ginny, was helpless to save them.

Ginny had thought long and had about her surroundings for hours as Luna lay beside her humming quietly. Finally, she broke the silence in the early hours of the morning. "Luna, I'm sorry I never took the time to understand you. I'm sorry in school I didn't stick up for you more often. You're probably the only one I can say that really GETS what I'm going through right now, and I am SO glad that you're here for me to talk to." She said with a tone of regret in her voice.

Luna smiled and took Ginny's hand. "Its fine, you were there for me in school more than anyone else and you're the only girl in our year that never teased me!" She said. "I've always wanted a sister to share life here with me and daddy, but since mum died and daddy refuses to re-marry, which im grateful for, I thought there was no chance of a sibling."

Ginny smiled. She had also wanted a sister for a long time.

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